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1 – 10 of 21
Article
Publication date: 6 July 2012

Carlos L. Antunes, Tony Richard O. Almeida, Nélia Raposeiro, Belarmino Gonçalves and Paulo Almeida

Due to its good mechanical and biocompatibility characteristics, nitinol SEMS is a popular endoprothesis used for relieving stricture problems in hollow organs due to carcinomas…

Abstract

Purpose

Due to its good mechanical and biocompatibility characteristics, nitinol SEMS is a popular endoprothesis used for relieving stricture problems in hollow organs due to carcinomas. Besides its mechanical application, SEMS can be regarded as well as potential electrode for performing RF ablation therapy on the tumor. The purpose of this work is to perform numerical and experimental analyses in order to characterize the lesion volume induced in biological tissue using this kind of tubular electrode.

Design/methodology/approach

Data concerning electrical conductivity and dimension of the damaged tissue after RF ablation procedure were obtained from ex vivo samples. Next, numerical models using 3D finite element method were obtained reassembling the conditions considered at experimentation setup and results were compared.

Findings

Numerical and experimental results show that a regular volume of damaged tissue can be obtained considering this type of electrode. Also, results obtained from numerical simulation are close to those obtained by experimentation.

Originality/value

SEMSs, commonly used as devices to minimize obstruction problems due to the growth of tumors, may still be considered as an active electrode for RF ablation procedures. A method considering this observation is presented in this paper. Also, numerical simulation can be regarded in this case as a tool for determining the lesion volume.

Details

COMPEL - The international journal for computation and mathematics in electrical and electronic engineering, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0332-1649

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 August 2014

Adrian Caldart, Roberto S. Vassolo and Luciana Silvestri

The purpose of this paper is to revise Burgelman’s idea (1991, 1994) that induced strategic processes is necessarily variation-reducing. In doing so, the authors explore whether…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to revise Burgelman’s idea (1991, 1994) that induced strategic processes is necessarily variation-reducing. In doing so, the authors explore whether major change in a firm’s administrative system can be managed in an evolutionary fashion via induced variation-increasing mechanisms. In particular, the authors focus on a multi-business multinational firm in which different administrative systems were experimented simultaneously as a way to determine which of these systems provided the most conducive context for innovation and capability development.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors adopted an inductive perspective and developed a single case research project aimed at documenting the process of experimentation and subsequent selection and adoption of a new administrative system by a large multi-business multinational firm.

Findings

The paper’s main contribution is the concept of “induced variation”, understood as intra-organizational variation-increasing mechanisms deliberately created at the top level of the organization to trigger an intra-organizational evolutionary process of management innovation. This finding extends and modifies Burgelman’s discussion of induced and autonomous strategic behavior by showing that induced processes need not necessarily be variation-reducing, but may actually be variation-increasing. Additionally, the authors explain how an evolutionary process aimed at learning about the relative merits of alternative administrative systems through in vivo “reflection in action” (Schön, 1983) unfolds in a complex global organization.

Research limitations/implications

While the work provides several insights on the development of an evolutionary process leading to management innovation, its inductive nature limits its external validity and requires the development of further work for such purpose.

Practical implications

The authors explore the roles of regional organizations in creating new corporate capabilities for the MNC.

Social implications

The authors show how management capabilities developed in the Latin American context were rolled out to other locations.

Originality/value

The authors' findings confirm that major drastic reorganization initiatives can actually be approached using an evolutionary approach.

Details

Management Research: The Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1536-5433

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2004

George K. Stylios

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects…

3517

Abstract

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

Details

International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, vol. 16 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-6222

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 August 2019

Anne-Sophie Thelisson, Audrey Missonier and Gilles Guieu

The purpose of this paper is to explore how a company reaches organizational ambidexterity during a merger process. Organizational ambidexterity refers to the proactive…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore how a company reaches organizational ambidexterity during a merger process. Organizational ambidexterity refers to the proactive adaptations of an organization to simultaneously explore and exploit.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a longitudinal case study of a public-private merger of two listed French companies. The data were collected from participant observation, interviews and archival documentation over two years.

Findings

The balance between autonomy and control by the parent companies evolves during the post-merger integration. The findings reveal that there was no concordance between the oscillations between autonomy and control on the part of the parent companies and the new organization’s exploration/exploitation strategies. However, the progressive evolution of control and autonomy from the parent companies engendered organizational ambidexterity during the third phase integration.

Practical implications

The study adds insight into how organizations can develop ways to manage organizational ambidexterity dynamics by employing temporal mechanisms, referring to an organization’s shifting sequentially between exploration and exploitation. The case highlights how temporal switching between exploration and exploitation occurs to ultimately enable ambidexterity.

Originality/value

Although organizational ambidexterity is recognized as a key element for post-merger integration, how it is achieved over the course of the merger process has received little attention. The study highlights that in the case of public-private mergers, the parent companies influence exploration and/or exploitation strategies. The paper adds insights on whether exploration and exploitation can be differentiated over time and whether exploration and exploitation can be reconciled at the same time.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 58 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 August 2018

Jean-Baptiste Litrico and Mary Dean Lee

In this chapter, we examine the interplay between external legitimacy judgments, internal identity beliefs, and conceptions of sustainability. Based on observation at industry…

Abstract

In this chapter, we examine the interplay between external legitimacy judgments, internal identity beliefs, and conceptions of sustainability. Based on observation at industry events and interviews with key stakeholders, we examine how organizational actors interpret the concept of sustainability in civil aviation, an industry subject to intense legitimacy threat for its environmental impact. We find that the concept of sustainability is interpreted through a process of naturalization, by which conceptual ties to past practices are forged, and the concept becomes corrupted. We describe three mechanisms (relabeling, bundling, and zooming out) through which concept naturalization occurs, and we show how this process creates resonance between sustainability and an industry ethos, which captures the aspirations, ideals and values of the industry.

Details

Sustainability, Stakeholder Governance, and Corporate Social Responsibility
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-316-2

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 February 2019

Raffaello Balocco, Angelo Cavallo, Antonio Ghezzi and Jasmina Berbegal-Mirabent

Business model change (BMC) is a process new ventures are frequently involved in, especially in dynamic environments like the digital industry: copying with it is a key issue for…

3641

Abstract

Purpose

Business model change (BMC) is a process new ventures are frequently involved in, especially in dynamic environments like the digital industry: copying with it is a key issue for entrepreneurs attempting to shorten the transition between current and new business models (BMs) and avoid losses in terms of revenue, image and customer retention, while acquiring experience and validated learning in the process. The purpose of this paper is to propose a lean framework to support digital new ventures in the BMC process.

Design/methodology/approach

The study builds its contribution on two pillars: a review on BM and the lean thinking theories, and a multiple case study on three digital new ventures which underwent BMC.

Findings

The study shows how BMC in a digital context can beneficially follow lean principles, and how these principles can be integrated in an original lean framework to experiment on, validate and subsequently change a BM.

Originality/value

The authors provide the “single minute exchange of die” for BMC framework that extends and complements lean startup approaches to further relate lean thinking and BMC, thus operationalizing the process of BM experimenting and validation that enables change.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 25 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2019

Sherazede Bouderbala and Malika Bouchenak

This study aims to investigate the effect of Ajuga iva (Ai) on enzymes involved in the metabolism of cholesterol, in rat fed a cholesterol-enriched diet.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to investigate the effect of Ajuga iva (Ai) on enzymes involved in the metabolism of cholesterol, in rat fed a cholesterol-enriched diet.

Design/methodology/approach

Male Wistar rats (n =12), weighing 120 ± 5 g were fed on 1 per cent cholesterol-enriched diet [hypercholesterolemic (HC)] for 15 days (d15). After this adaptation phase, HC rats (total cholesterol = 6.5 ± 0.6 mmol/L) were divided into two groups fed the same diet and treated (Ai-HC) or not with (HC) with Ai for d15.

Findings

At day 15, in Ai-HC group compared to HC, serum triacylglycerol (TG) values were 1.4-fold lower (p =0.002), whereas unesterified cholesterol (UC) contents were 1.8-fold higher (p =0.0001). Serum phospholipids (PL) and cholesteryl esters (CE) contents and liver TG, UC, PL and CE values were not sensitive to Ai. TC/HDL-C and LDL-HDL1-C/HDL-C ratios were, respectively, 1.8- and 4-fold lower (p =0.006 and p =0.04). HDL2-C and HDL3-C amounts were enhanced by 40 and 74 per cent, respectively (p =0.003 and p =0.0001). HDL3-UC was 1.6-fold higher (p =0.006); whereas PL contents were 1.4-fold lower (p =0.003). HDL3-apo and HDL2-CE contents were similar between groups. A decreased of hydroxy-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase activities (−44 and −25 per cent; p =0.003 and p =0.02, respectively) were noted. Lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase activity was 1.5-fold higher (p =0.001).

Originality/value

In HC rat, Ai is able to induce hypotriglyceridemia. However, it turns out that Ai may reduce cardiovascular risk by decreasing the reports of atherogenicity and modifying the activities of enzymes involved in the cholesterol metabolism.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science , vol. 50 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 May 2017

George Rossolatos

The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize how Miley Cyrus’ brand values are projected through the multimodal semiotic structure of the live performance of the song Do my thang

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize how Miley Cyrus’ brand values are projected through the multimodal semiotic structure of the live performance of the song Do my thang (from the Bangerz album (2013)).

Design/methodology/approach

Sociosemiotic conceptual framework in conjunction with an interpretive videographic method of analysis, facilitated by the multimodal qualitative discourse analytic software ATLAS.ti.

Findings

Four major territories were identified as regards the spectacle’s latent axiology, namely, freeplay, polymorphous sexuality, neo-burlesque, and hyperdifferentiation.

Practical implications

Attending to structural couplings between signs and modes in the context of bespoke artists’ brand languages constitutes a priority for managing an artist as brand, and, concomitantly, for safeguarding relevance for a fandom. A multimodal reading grid is offered to this end.

Originality/value

From a branding point of view, this study constitutes the first one that theorizes the live show spectacle as the manifest discourse whereupon brand image and brand values are edified, with an emphasis on the dance mode, over and above the verbal/visual modes that dominate the advertising/branding literatures.

Details

Arts and the Market, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4945

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1971

Earliest localism was sited on a tree or hill or ford, crossroads or whenceways, where people assembled to talk, (Sax. witan), or trade, (Sax. staple), in eggs, fowl, fish or…

Abstract

Earliest localism was sited on a tree or hill or ford, crossroads or whenceways, where people assembled to talk, (Sax. witan), or trade, (Sax. staple), in eggs, fowl, fish or faggots. From such primitive beginnings many a great city has grown. Settlements and society brought changes; appointed headmen and officials, a cloak of legality, uplifted hands holding “men to witness”. Institutions tend to decay and many of these early forms passed away, but not the principle vital to the system. The parish an ecclesiastical institution, had no place until Saxons, originally heathens, became Christians and time came when Church, cottage and inn filled the lives of men, a state of localism in affairs which endured for centuries. The feudal system decayed and the vestry became the seat of local government. The novels of Thomas Hardy—and English literature boasts of no finer descriptions of life as it once was—depict this authority and the awe in which his smocked countrymen stood of “the vicar in his vestry”. The plague freed serfs and bondsmen, but events, such as the Poor Law of 1601, if anything, revived the parish as the organ of local government, but gradually secular and ecclesiastical aspects were divided and the great population explosion of the eighteenth century created necessity for subdivision of areas, which continued to serve the principle of localism however. The ballot box completed the eclipse of Church; it changed concepts of localism but not its importance in government.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 73 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2003

C.A. Rusinko and D.A. Sesok‐Pizzini

A technological community framework can be used to explain and manage new medical technologies. It describes emergence, commercialization, and standardization of an innovation or…

2127

Abstract

A technological community framework can be used to explain and manage new medical technologies. It describes emergence, commercialization, and standardization of an innovation or technology within the context of its whole network (or community) of stakeholders. This framework is used to illustrate the emergence, commercialization, and standardization of a relatively new medical technology – umbilical cord blood (UCB) banking. Umbilical cord blood may prove to be a source of stem cells for bone marrow transplant that is safer, more accessible, and less expensive than current sources of stem cells. The technological community framework can signal potential problems as the technology emerges, and help healthcare delivery systems and providers to effectively assess and manage the technology. The framework can also be applied to other medical technologies and innovations.

Details

Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. 17 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-7266

Keywords

1 – 10 of 21